Zhang, S; Leiringer, R and Winch, G (2024) Procuring infrastructure public-private partnerships: Capability development and learning from an owner perspective. Construction Management and Economics, 42(1), pp. 35-53. ISSN 01446193
Abstract
The expanding application of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in infrastructure development and public service delivery has posed numerous commercial challenges for public sector owners (PSOs) regarding their capabilities to initiate, procure and manage PPP projects. This paper starts from the important role of owner project capabilities in infrastructure delivery and explores how PSOs learn to develop new commercial capabilities to match the PPP context. We draw on a qualitative single-case study of a state-owned enterprise in the Chinese context, which at the time of the study was in the early stages of applying the PPP approach in procuring metro line projects. The finding indicates the process of how the PSO learned to establish and develop the necessary owner commercial capabilities to procure infrastructure PPPs for the first time, such as the abilities to define project scope, procure, and manage suppliers. It sheds light on the roles of different types of learning mechanisms – experience accumulation, knowledge articulation, and knowledge codification – on capability development for PPPs over time from an owner perspective.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | owner project capabilities; infrastructure PPPs; public sector owners; capability development; learning mechanisms; commercial capabilities; China |
| Index terms: | service delivery, capability development, infrastructure delivery, China, partnership, infrastructure development, case study, owner, public sector, project scope |
| Subjects: | scope management, partnership management, administrative law, sociology, Geography, infrastructure engineering, data collection methods, management, service delivery, strategic project management |
| Topics: | Project Management, Geographical Context, Legal Issues, Stakeholder Management, Research Practice, Engineering Principles, Organizational Design |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCE |
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